3 symptoms of burnout: the Maslach Burnout Inventory method

What is burnout?

Signs of burnout can manifest in many different ways, depending on the context, but some of the following are common signs of burnout:

• Exhaustion
• Irritation
• Pessimism
• Anxiety
• Numbness
• Headaches
• Reduced creativity
• Diminished cognitive functioning
• Depression
• Withdrawal
• Listlessness
• Insomnia

From my research as a burnout coach into the realities of individuals who have experienced a work burnout (or multiple), here are some of the ways people have described their own signs:

• “A loss in purpose, focus, and energy.”
• “When you have an overwhelming feeling of not getting enough done nor ability to get caught up.”
• “A breaking point, can be any combination of physical/mental/emotional where you can no longer execute the day-to-day that is expected of you.”

When it comes to officially diagnosing burnout, there are many different ways to do so, but the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), developed in…